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Lightning strike kills woman at Rocky Mountain National Park

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. -- A lightning strike has killed a woman and injured seven other people at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said in a news release that two of the injured were taken to a hospital by ambulance and five others transported themselves.

Patterson says park officials were notified of the lightning strike at about 1:20 p.m. Friday. It took place on the Ute Crossing Trail, which is located off Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge is the nation's highest continuously paved road.

The park did not identify the woman who died, or the people who were injured.

The incident occurred during heavy monsoon rains that have drenched parts of Colorado, The Denver Post reported. Some downpours have produced as much as an inch of rain within a 20-minute period.

The National Weather Service said the death was the first in Colorado caused by lightning this year.

Park officials also said a second lightning strike took place in the same park, but near the Rainbow Curve area, also off Trail Ridge Road. They say there were injuries related to that strike, but no further details were available.